Belle stood over the desk and looked down into the basin. She thought she could make out what looked like a living room. "Good," Professor McGonagall said. "Now get closer, so close that your nose almost touches the contents of the basin."
Belle did as instructed. As she got closer, the image below her solidified more clearly. She had been right about it being a living room. She lowered herself an inch or so more to see if she could make out more details. Her nose touched the contents of the basin.
Immediately, Belle felt herself being pulled into the depths of the basin. She felt a swooping sensation inside her stomach and felt as if she were diving through the mist. The gray mist swirled and churned around her until it cleared away to reveal the living room she had been looking at from above.
Belle saw three occupants in the room: two adults with a small child between them as they nervously sat on a couch. They seemed to be waiting for something. Immediately, Belle recognized the child as a young Hermione. The other two adults Belle supposed were Hermione's parents. Hermione resembled them. The man was tall with brown hair the exact same shade as Hermione's and wore glasses. The woman had big bushy sandy-blonde hair and an open, friendly face. The whole family all had a hunched sort of posture as if they spent a lot of time reading.
The occupants of the living room didn't seem to notice Belle at all. Nervousness and anticipation permeated the room. She began to feel a little nervous herself and wondered what they were waiting for. A bell sound rang throughout the house, which startled Belle, but it looked as if the occupants had been waiting for it. The man got up and exited the room. The woman put her arm around the young Hermione and hugged her.
The man returned to the room with a person that Belle immediately recognized. Professor McGonagall! Hermione and her mother got up to greet Professor McGonagall.
"This is when I first met Hermione," Professor McGonagall said from beside Belle.
Belle started. There was a slightly younger-looking Professor McGonagall in the room, engaging in small talk with the family, and the present-day Professor McGonagall standing beside Belle. Again, it occurred to Belle that no one in the room seemed to notice Belle or, apparently, the current Professor McGonagall. It was as if they were invisible.
"They don't see us?" Belle asked.
"No," Professor McGonagall replied. "This is a memory, which we're able to relive through the power of the Pensieve."
Belle nodded, not quite understanding but accepting this as something magical beyond her ken. She commented. "You look good, Professor. I can hardly tell the difference between your past and present self."
Professor McGonagall looked surprised and chuckled slightly. "Thank you," she said.
Professor McGonagall told Belle, "Hermione came from what we call a Muggle family, which means non-magical. No one in her family, that she knows of, can do magic. Customarily, we send out Hogwarts letters to all students informing them that they have been accepted to Hogwarts. However, with situations like Hermione's where neither the student nor the family has any idea about magic, we send a staff member to visit and explain."
Belle watched as Professor McGonagall explained the magical world and that Hermione had a place at a wizarding school called Hogwarts. During the explanation, young Hermione's mouth fell open in awe at Professor McGonagall's words.
Once again, Belle was amazed at the resemblance between her and Hermione. Belle could recall looking at this very reflection in mirrors when she was younger. The hair was different and this younger Hermione had elongated front teeth, which Belle noted she no longer seemed to have as she ran her tongue along the present Hermione's teeth.
Professor McGonagall did a quick magical demonstration by turning a pillow into a cat and then back again.
"This is a lot to take in," Hermione's father said. "It's almost unbelievable, but I just saw you perform magic."
"It explains the unexplainable occurrences that have happened with Hermione over the years," her mother commented thoughtfully.
"Indeed," Professor McGonagall said. "Children don't know how to control their magic and oftentimes it expresses itself when emotions are high."
Her family nodded, seeming to all have a recollection come to mind.
"This is why it's important for Hermione to come to Hogwarts," she continued. "So she can learn to control her powers."
"I don't know…" her father said. "We already have her enrolled in school."
"One she worked really hard to get into," her mother said.
"It's ultimately your family's decision," Professor McGonagall said in her matter-of-fact tone. "But if she's not able to control her powers, our magical government, the Ministry of Magic, might have to get involved if she risks violating the Statute of Secrecy, which requires hiding the wizarding world from the non-magical community."
They all looked at Hermione, who seemed to be deep in thought.
"Take your time to decide," Professor McGonagall said. "It's a big decision."
"I want to go," Hermione said. "I've had these powers that I've been trying to hide. That made me feel like something was wrong with me. I want to learn everything there is to know about magic."
Her parents looked worried but seemed to accept Hermione's decision.
"Here," Professor McGonagall said. "This is your Hogwarts letter that explains everything you need before starting school and where to catch the train to Hogwarts. You can buy all of your magical supplies in London at Diagon Alley. I am happy to accompany you to make sure you know how to get there."
"That would be most welcome, thank you," Hermione's mother said, smiling at Professor McGonagall. "We'd be surely lost."
They made the arrangements of when to meet Professor McGonagall in London.
"I'll also explain how to access the private train platform for the Hogwarts Express," Professor McGonagall said. "It's fairly simple once you understand how."
The mist began to swirl again and the living room disappeared. The mist swirled around Belle and the current Professor McGonagall for some time until it dissipated to reveal a classroom.
Belle saw Professor McGonagall standing at the front of the room and a lot of young-looking students nervously taking seats. Belle looked around and immediately saw what must have been a young Hermione sitting eagerly at one of the desks. She had a textbook in front of her, paper on the desk, and pen at the ready. The other students were still choosing their seats and settling in.
The professor at the front of the room called attention to the room.
"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she said. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."
To Belle's — and the rest of the class's — astonishment, the Professor McGonagall at the front turned her desk into a pig and back again. Belle smiled as she saw all the students sit up straighter. Then the Professor McGonagall at the front began instructing students about the complexities of Transfiguration, which made Belle's head spin, and then gave all the students matches to try turning into needles.
As the past Professor McGonagall began to walk around the room instructing students, the current Professor McGonagall explained, "If you haven't gathered by now, I used to teach Transfiguration before I became headmistress. At the time, I was deputy headmistress. This was my first class with Hermione."
"I see, Professor," Belle said. She watched as the past Professor McGonagall stopped by two boys — one black-haired and the other red. "Is that Harry and Ron, Professor?"
"Indeed," Professor McGonagall said.
"They're so small," Belle murmured. "And cute."
"This is a precious age," Professor McGonagall said with a note of fondness in her voice. "They're very young and learning to be away from their families for the first time. I've always been very strict with them because they need structure. Otherwise, they go mad."
Belle turned her attention back to Hermione. It seemed she was the only one in the class who had managed to make a difference in her match.
The past Professor McGonagall picked up Hermione's match and showed it to the class, demonstrating how it had gone all silver and pointy. She smiled at Hermione, which Belle had known enough of Professor McGonagall by now to realize that was a rare occurrence.
The silvery mist swirled around them again and absorbed the classroom. The mist revealed a familiar room, the headmistress' office.
Belle immediately realized that time had passed. They were in the headmistress's office and Professor McGonagall sat at her desk with three grown familiar faces in front of her. Belle recognized Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They all looked tired and the worse for wear but satisfied about something.
"Please explain to me what you've been doing this past year," Professor McGonagall said. "Surely, you can talk about it now."
Ron and Hermione looked at Harry, clearly waiting for him to make the decision.
"Yes, I suppose so, Professor," Harry said. "We were searching for and destroying Voldemort's Horcruxes."
Harry then went into an explanation about what Horcruxes are and how someone called Professor Dumbledore — Belle knew she'd heard that name before but couldn't remember where — had discovered that someone called Tom Riddle had made Horcruxes from valuable or sentimental objects before rising to power. Harry told Professor McGonagall about their journey to find and destroy Horcruxes along with the challenges they faced. He explained, with some emotion, that Voldemort had inadvertently made him a Horcrux.
At that, Professor McGonagall, "So you knowingly sacrificed yourself? Oh, Harry…"
Harry explained that once he'd been killed by Voldemort, the only Horcrux left was a snake called Nagini, who Neville killed. He'd managed to live because of his mother's protection and because Voldemort had taken Harry's blood along with his intention to die to save everyone else.
"That's quite a story, Potter," Professor McGonagall said. "It explains a lot of what's been happening over the years. Thank you for telling me."
The mist swirled around them again and Belle found herself again in the headmistress's office, but this time in the present.
"That last memory," Belle said. "I have so many questions."
"Ask away," Professor McGonagall said, sitting down at her desk and gesturing for Belle to sit down as well.
Belle asked clarifying questions about the people and details involved. She was reminded that Professor Dumbledore was the man in the portrait who talked to them yesterday. She learned that Tom Riddle was the name of the dark wizard who became Voldemort. She was sure that she'd missed important details and nuances, but she had a better understanding of what had recently happened.
"You pick things up quickly," Professor McGonagall said, a pleased note in her voice. "You are quite like Hermione in that regard. Throughout her years at Hogwarts, Hermione excelled in all her classes just like she did in my first class. She practically memorized her textbooks, worked hard, and read everything she could get her hands on. People were always surprised when they learned about her heritage."
"Why?" Belle asked, puzzled.
"Certain wizards have a…prejudice against those who are born to non-magical folk. Muggle-born, they're called," Professor McGonagall sniffed. "Blood has nothing to do with it, but there's still a resentment in certain people."
"I see," Belle said. She'd grown up in a time when social classes were very pronounced. She thought it sounded similar to the attitudes of the very rich when new people became wealthy.
"I hope this helps you understand Hermione's background," Professor McGonagall said. "Hermione took off her final year of study to help Harry track down these Horcruxes to defeat He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. I offered to let her come back and finish her schooling and she accepted." Professor McGonagall sighed. "Who knows what she truly endured during that time."
Belle couldn't begin to fathom, but it certainly sounded like a stressful time period for Hermione. In comparison, her life up until this point had been extraordinarily dull.
"Thank you for showing me, Professor," Belle said. "I have a better idea of Hermione now and her motivations."
"Of course," Professor McGonagall said. "It should be time for lunch. After that, you're to meet with Professor Flitwick who will assess your abilities with your wand and spellcasting."
"Oh, Ginny and I did some of that yesterday!" Belle exclaimed, excitedly. "I can do magic!"
Professor McGonagall's eyebrow raised. "Indeed? Well, I'm pleased to hear it and I look forward to Professor Flitwick's report on your abilities. It will make things much easier if you can do magic."